Lessons in Chemistry: Why did Elizabeth cut her parents out?

We know Elizabeth Zott doesn’t have a good relationship with her parents. We learn why in Lessons in Chemistry Episode 6.

Up to this point, we know a little about Elizabeth’s past. We know that she was sexually assaulted, and we know that her father was a preacher, leading to her having a difficult relationship with faith. Well, in Episode 6 of Lessons in Chemistry, we learn just why she has such a difficult relationship and the events that led to her cutting her parents out of her life completely.

You see, it turns out that her father wasn’t just a preacher, he was a fraud. He would use his son, John, to help create flames in a chair by setting a pistachio shell on fire. Elizabeth was so young at the time that she believed her father’s lies, but John helped her understand the truth.

Elizabeth sees who her parents really are in Lessons in Chemistry

It’s not just that, though. Elizabeth also sees how her father treats John during Lessons in Chemistry Episode 6. She’s too young to do anything about it, but we know she holds guilt for some of the things that happened to her brother. In one event, John was forced to ride in the trunk of the car to teach him a lesson. He would also spit on John and call him names to make John hate himself.

Elizabeth also learned that John was keeping a secret of his own. John was gay, and there was no way that something like that could come out. In the end, John killed himself, something that Elizabeth lives with.

It’s no wonder that she decided to turn to truth and science. Now we can see why Elizabeth is honest to a fault, and why she hates that Phil is turning her into something that she’s not. It’s also understandable why she opted to cut out her parents completely.

Lessons in Chemistry is available to stream on Apple TV+.